Check check

The dreaded application process for grad school has finally come. Oh joy.

Moving on...

I'm sitting here writing an essay for my application to SDSU. Oh boy, venti Pike Place Roast and Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album. NOW you know I mean business. I've been sitting here reflecting on my experiences at UCSD and CSUF... and I realized how awesome my college experience was even though I graduated a year early. So, naturally, instead of pouring my soul into an essay, I thought I'd pour it out on a blog. Bear with me.

Things to do before graduating from college:

 Pull an all nighter (or two...or three...or ten...)

Gain fifteen pounds

 Live off of mac'n'cheese, ramen, pizza and microwave dinners for too long

Have a major crush on a TA

Fantasize over cute boys in discussion

Ride a bike around campus

Run into something/someone while bike riding

Go jogging by the beach

Have a college boyfriend

Continue fueling caffeine addiction (Note: If you entered college without one, it's time to start!)

Have your own apartment

Drive around with a car full of friends with no destination in mind

Run on the beach at night

Talk to random strangers 

Go out dancing

Go gay clubbing

Go bar hopping

Fall hopelessly in love with a friend

Laugh at yourself for falling in love with the friend

Stay up all night chatting with a roommate

Have pillow chats

Yell at your drunk neighbors for being drunk

Rent out a study room and make a party out of it

Roll down a grassy hill. A big one.

Go out for breakfast completely hung over and marvel at how much you can eat

Suck up to a professor

Argue with a TA

Ace an exam that you never studied for

Bomb an exam that you studied your butt off for

Leave knowing that you paid all that money for more than a sheet of paper

Success!

"Freely you have received, freely give."

Matthew 10:8b

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! 

I hope that His love, joy and peace overwhelm you this holiday season. 

Card by Shanna Murray

Spiced Tea Adventures

Just four more days until Christmas!! And the weather keeps reminding us. I love the rain as long as I don't have to leave the house. :) Thank you God for winter chillies and warm fuzzies.

A few days ago, I was at Steph's house and her mom made spiced tea! Deelish. So on this cold, rainy December day, I thought I'd take a stab at it. Mind you, I'm a wildfire in the kitchen. And I mean that in the worst way possible... there's a reason why my family doesn't ask me to cook. So even something as simple as tea was a leap of faith!

 But hey, it came out just dandy! I was happy because a) hot and yummy drinks are a must this time of year and b) I got to use my adorable new mug that Rachel gave me. :) Minor detail, but worth mentioning.

So I thought I would share the recipe on here. There are about a million different recipes online if you Google "spiced tea mix", but since the recipe I used took a bit of tweaking I thought I'd spare you the trouble. :)

Happy December 21st, friends! Hope you are all in good spirits and cozied up!

Click on image to enlarge.

Lovely Pretty Things

I like to fawn over pretty things at anthropologie.com. Not having a job is a major bust, but hey! A girl can dream all she wants. :)

Christmastime is here!

It feels so good to be on vacation. Not an actual far-from-home, pack-your-suitcases kind of vacation... but just a break from school and work. I feel that sometimes I can be so hard to please. "God, I want a break." "Wait, God, I want to be busy!" Sounds funny, but I know I do it all the time.

I've spent the past few days with friends that I love and adore. That's what matters most to me this Christmas season.

Another thing is family -- I take them for granted sometimes but I know I am so blessed to have them! We are going to serve at our friend's rehabilitation center today! We're hosting a Christmas party and it is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to serve food, meet new people, play with the kidlets, and most of all bless others in the name of Jesus <3 My faith has been tested in so many ways. Emotional, physical and spiritual health. Satan can slip right past our guard and fill our heads with lies. But when I am serving others, it is then that I feel closest to Him. When I stop thinking about me me me and start seeing His children as beautiful and worthy to be served. I have been humbled in so many ways... which is painful... but oh so necessary.

"Putting your joy in material things means that anyone, anything can take that away. Put your joy into pursuing eternal life which we have all been given!"
Our pastor told us this at church last night. I know I have put my "joy" in material things... money... school...grades (bleh, grades!). And he was right -- it all slipped away. But putting your joy in Him means never being let down. Which, I've learned, is different from falling. He lets us do that all the time! But as surely as the coming of the dawn, He will respond.

God you are good! May you be blessed through this Christmas season!

Words of Wisdom from Mom

金曜日。午前九時半。日本からプレゼントを貰いました。母と幸子は男のファションの雑誌を読んでいました。


Friday morning. Package arrives from Japan. Mom and Christina are looking through a guys' fashion magazine.


C: "Oh no! Is he wearing a skirt?!"
M: *sigh* "They need Jesus."
C: "Hahahaha MOM!"
M: "It's true! When you don't have Jesus in your life... you start worshipping clothes."

My mother speaks the truth.

Sweet December

I absolutely cannot believe that we're already in December! Christmas music is on the radio, nights are getting chillier, and GRAD APPS are due soon! I know I shouldn't be stressing about them... but I just can't help it! Dear God, please give me peace this Christmas season! I don't want to be all grinchy this season.

God has been good. Quiet, but good. I've been so blessed with incredible new friends these past few months. He has revealed to me more than ever that we are all put on this earth for a reason. We should never let an opportunity to bless others slip by!

With all the madness of final exams, papers, quitting my job, new romance (yes, you read that correctly...), I've been completely overwhelmed. My brain is on constant overload, and the effects have not been pretty. Sometimes I forget that this life isn't all about me -- and that everything good in my life is not due to my own efforts. Just need to take  a (BIG) step backwards and give all my burdens to HIM.

Oh, the beauty of letting go. Not easy, but definitely necessary.

Dear Jesus, this Christmas season... please take my burdens. Give me rest.

Searching

There once lived a little girl. She lived with her Father and was very happy. Her Father loved her very much and since He had very special powers, He made a plan for her life that would be far from dull, but would bring her ultimate happiness. However, there was a catch (because there's always a catch!). Her life was a puzzle. And she would have to find the pieces and put it together. Granted, she could ask for help, but sometimes the answer would not come quickly.

The little girl found herself to be an excellent puzzle solver. The school pieces, friend pieces, and family pieces all fell together quite nicely. And she was happy. She joyously threw the pieces together, took a step back to admire the finished product... and realized that a part of the puzzle was still missing. 

Her heart.

The little girl was adept at putting the rest of the pieces together, but somehow, the heart was the most difficult part for her to put together. It was the one part where she was solely dependent on her Father's guidance. She had sought out pieces that weren't the perfect fit. They were good pieces... just not the right ones. Well the little girl thought, "Dad, we put the other pieces together. I can wait on this part. I have time."

Well, I should have noted that this girl was a good girl but patience was a constant struggle for her. She decided to venture into a magical world (not knowing what to expect, as most little girls never do.) and found a piece. Was it the right one? Was she just subconsciously desperate to finish the puzzle all too soon? The piece was beautiful -- complex, kind, searching for someone like her to pick him and put him into play.

But then it occurred to her: perhaps this wasn't the final piece. Maybe it was a piece that was necessary to find the next. She felt that there was so much she needed to learn before the puzzle was complete, and this was a mere step to finding her proper piece. She mustered up her courage, went to her Father and asked what she should do.

He simply looked down at her with a twinkle in His eyes, but said nothing. 

"Father please, tell me what to do!"
But His response was not the answer she expected. 

He told her: "You will choose. But whatever you decide, I will be here. And we will finish this puzzle together, and at the end of the day... I will take you home with me. If I am in your heart first and foremost, my child, we will walk hand in hand forever more... and you will be safe."

So she went back out and found the piece, willing and eager to be a part of the puzzle. She took the piece ever so gently in her hands, and slowly made her way home.

--to be continued--
(As most stories usually are...)

Not too shabby

This is what I get to see at work every weekend. :)

Lovely coffeehouses.

I love coffee shops. 

OK, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, It's a Grind... you guys have all been great. But I'm talking about overstuffed couches with signs of wear and love, funky art pieces on the walls (the more outlandish, the better!), super friendly workers that know people by name and order, mismatched chairs and dimmed lighting. I really wish OC had more independent coffeehouses. Embark with me on a virtual tour of some of the coolest coffee houses in the US (Most are in NYC... lucky east coasters!)

Chandler Cafe, OH. Loving the cheery Christmas decorations!

Claire de Lune, San Diego CA

Cute storefront. And I'm a fan of the name...

Cafe Lalo in NYC

Bush baby. 10 points for the name alone.

OK so the above two images are from Saraghina Cafe in NYC. Pretty little vintage haven. *swoon* 

The above two images are from Cafe Grumpy in Brooklyn. How could you be grumpy in a place like this? Even the mad bear face logo is too cute!

Wasn't that fun? Now back to studying. Sadly, not at one of the above places but at home drinking instant coffee. *sigh* 

Oh well, thank goodness for my oh-so-vivid daydreams!

Love, blessings and caffeinated warm fuzzies,

Christina